The Hoodlums Handbook
Author: Randle_McMurphy Ok, so you’re a Hoodlum, what now? Firstly congratulations, you’re starting on your long and winding road of The Life. Let’s start from the beginning. You’re still nothing, don’t get any delusions of grandeur. From the rank of Hoodlum, you’ve show that you can rob old ladies, nothing more. Now you can start to expand to bigger crimes, felonies. These will pay off a little higher than just taking an OAPs bag, but it’s still hardly big bucks. Carry on with your petty crimes, mix in a few felonies, but beware, they carry more potential jail time. The real difference between your current rank and Thug, is that now you have the potential to start earning the kind of money that will let you get your first starts on the drug trafficking ladder. Obviously, you won’t be shifting 20 units of coke right from the start, but it should allow you to start at the bottom and work your way up. Any profit, after all, is a good thing. Take the time now to look around at the different ways to spend your hard earned cash. There’s the horses, always a good way to fritter away a few bucks, of course, if your horse comes in, you’re rolling in it. Then there’s the slots, prices range from a dollar to $100 so there’s something to suit every pocket. Take the time to travel around a bit, there are many cities you can visit, maybe go and check out the drug markets in different areas, never know, you might pick up a trend and start your own drug route. Interaction, it’s the name of the game. You’re not going to get far without friends, but friends aren’t always the easiest to make. If you’re new to these shores, perhaps the best way to find your way around and meet people will be to take a few long walks through the Streets. Here, people interact on a daily basis. You’ll find all sorts of types here, old hands, newer “members” of the life, they sit around on their street corners and discuss business, life, the weather, anything they want really. You’d probably do well to kick back and listen to a few conversations, get a feel for how these guys speak to each other, try and learn from their styles of speech, look at the way they behave. Do this for a few hours, maybe a day, and I think it will help you to put yourself across properly. Everyone makes mistakes, but maybe this will reduce your chances. Sometimes the older guys can be rough on newcomers, but don’t take this to heart. If they give you a hard time over something, just try not to do it again, you’ll gain more respect by listening to advice and learning from your mistakes than you will from starting a row in the street. We were all fresh-faced young thugs once, just remember that, we all had to learn just like you will. Once you’re starting to have conversations in the streets without getting heckled and insulted (if that’s ever possible, to be honest, lol) then you’re well on your way to being taken somewhat seriously in this life. If you see someone you like the look of, or someone that you want to have a private conversation with, there’s always private mail. Send them a telegram. We have one of the best mail systems in the world here, and the mailmen don’t ask questions either, if you know what I mean. Sometimes private mail is the best way to get to know a person, but watching the way they talk and behave in the streets can’t hurt any either. Now, you’re going to wonder what comes next. You’re networking, you’re starting to earn money from your felonies and small drug runs, now what? Well, maybe one of your new friends will ask you to become a member of their local bar. You’d be part of a street gang, have some sort of purpose. Or maybe they won’t. If that’s the case, you can always keep your eye out for signs of street gangs yourself, street conversations, advertisements for muscle. Maybe if you impress them enough, they’ll let you in, or maybe you’ve got more work to do. From here on out, you’re on your own, I hope you find this advice useful in some way. Stay safe.